Tahoe saved our lives

[DaveO9]

Last four hundred mile stretch of an almost 4k mile road trip. My son, 16 and no license yet, just permit, was driving. It was a good stretch for him to get an hour or so in of night freeway driving. I'm in the passenger seat, my girls, 18 and 13, in the back. All had seatbelts on. Little traffic and nice, wide section of I-84 west of Ontario, OR. (OR/ID border) He started getting harassed by a mosquito and took his eyes off the road for a second, went on to the left side shoulder, ran over a flexible guide post, then swerved hard back into the lane. Way too hard - he started going into a series of over-corrections and then we eventually went over. Rolled at least three times, maybe four or five. All a blur to me. I'll always wonder if I could have grabbed the wheel and got things settled down, but I think it was all over after his initial hard swerve.

WE ALL WALKED AWAY. No serious injuries, just cuts, scrapes and bruises. We all got a ride in an ambulance to the hospital in Ontario, with full workups there. All got discharged a couple hours later. I'll probably end up doing some PT or maybe chiropractor, as I'm having some upper back pain. Kids have no apparent issues. Crashed in a hotel for a few hours, my wife and a niece drove the 400 miles to come get us in the minivan. We had to rent a u-haul trailer to haul all our gear, plus all the tools and related, etc. that I had in the rig.

I'll most likely be shopping for another NNBS Tahoe or possibly Suburban very soon. I know other vehicles we probably would have fared OK, too, but that's just the way I am. I really liked my LS - liked the bench seat in front, simple but very effective HVAC system, cloth seats, no DVD players, etc. But you don't see many LS, mostly LT. And I liked my color too. So I'll either have to be patient or settle for something.

 

[Tonyv__]

Forget about the “what ifs” It’s the worst thing you could do to yourself. Be happy your family is still with you and you’re all walking away. Great news

This is the reason we opted for a Yukon and I prefer not to drive anything smaller. I truly feel safer in larger vehicles.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Glad to hear everyone is OK. Son must feel terrible.

 

[Fless]

Glad that everyone is okay!

 

[iamdub]

Time and again, we see members posting this level of carnage and reporting minimal bodily harm. Why would you risk finding out if another vehicle would fare as well? I have all the convincing data I need just from these pages. I'm glad you all walked away and thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[j91z28d1]

wow. that's a heck of a ride.

but yes, while it seems in hindsight you could have grabbed the wheel, years ago I was riding home from the track in a friends little brothers truck. he was a newish driver and a wet on-ramp slide a little bit on him, early days of rear only abs on trucks and probably no tc. it got him in a bit of a tank slapper. being lower speed and wet we got lucky and him just jamming the brakes it saved itself off the side of the road but I tried reaching for the wheel to help him. cause it was super slow motion, all the time in the world to do so, but the seat belt was locked, which I'm sure yours was too after the first rumble strip. the truck wouldn't let you even if you wanted too. so don't beat yourself up over it.

on the bright side, I alway say the learning curve to being a safe driver takes a few small omg moments to really set in that all this is real, and actually dangerous. all 3 of your kids just got a core memory that driving is no joke and you all walked away cleanly from it.

good luck with the back.. i don't wish a bad back on anyone.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Really glad that no one was hurt. You can replace a truck, but not a life.

 

[OR VietVet]

Like @iamdub said, I would say I have seen approx half a dozen threads like this. Major major damage to the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade and the people in the vehicle walk away. It's like driving around in a beautiful roll cage. Glad everyone is ok and again, walked away. I never got in an accident when I was first driving. Scared of what would happen when I got home. But, I came close a few times and can remember them all. Glad you are all ok and the Tahoe did what it was supposed to do....PROTECT YOU. Get another one and breathe easy.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Before anything else, glad y'all walked away and will heal quickly.
Try to stay ahead of back pain, you won't heal quite as thoroughly as your kids will.

My son, 16, just a permit ... started getting harassed by a mosquito and took his eyes off the road for a second, went on to the left side shoulder, ran over a flexible guide post, then swerved way too hard back into the lane ... started going into a series of over-corrections ... eventually went over. Rolled at least three times, maybe four or five ...
I'll always wonder if I could have grabbed the wheel and got things settled down, but I think it was all over after his initial hard swerve.

Pointless to stress yourself wondering. It will not help you or your kids now or in the future.

Instead, go find a parking lot, the less occupied, the better.
Always carefully, and too slow at first, practice threading the vehicle through 'obstacles'.
When it came time to teach my nephews, the best 'obstacles' were highly reflective road cones about 3ft tall.
Too short is useless, but too tall will not let them learn about the vertical blind spots.

Separate each cone by at least 300 inches. Have them thread through the cones at, say, 5-10MpH, at first.
After they find that EASY, up the speed to 10-15MpH.
First they'll notice that much more steering is needed to trace the same path more quickly than previous.
Then they'll notice how much more steering needs to be done IN ADVANCE of the next swerve.

Equally useful is slow speed precision stuff. Drive thru the cones backwards. Drop pennies through the holes in the top of the cones after driving right up to them without running them over or shoving them.
I eventually used these and other 'cone course' variations with other people to great success.

 

[mattbta]

Echo everything above. Glad all are ok.

 

[Geotrash]

SO GLAD that you all walked away. A little PT is a triumphant outcome for what could have been a tragedy. Your son learned a valuable lesson and you can now upgrade to a long body Suburban with more space for stuff. Thank you for sharing your story with us and I'm grateful to still be able to count you among our living members!

Also, this is the exact reason why we drive these vehicles in our family, too. My wife and I feel infinitely safer on the road in ours.

 

[Scott in AZ]

Glad everybody is OK. Fortunately you have the wisdom to see this for what it is: a life-changing event of good fortune. But we make our own luck, right? You made this good outcome by raising kids smart enough to all be buckled in; and selecting one of the safest autos on the road, with modern advanced safety features. You made your good luck.

It won’t be any consolation for your boy but I did the same thing at age 16 in a ‘78 Honda Accord. Over-corrected. Flat land Florida , so I spun and slid off the road and thru a field. Didn’t flip or roll because of the terrain. Another difference; I didn’t have a seat belt on. Learned that lesson 40 years ago the hard way, to always have it buckled because you just don’t know.

Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. Glad you all will have a lifetime of good decisions to make because of the experience you gained on this terrible day that sure could have been a lot worse.

 

[j91z28d1]

Before anything else, glad y'all walked away and will heal quickly.
Try to stay ahead of back pain, you won't heal quite as thoroughly as your kids will.Pointless to stress yourself wondering. It will not help you or your kids now or in the future.

Instead, go find a parking lot, the less occupied, the better.
Always carefully, and too slow at first, practice threading the vehicle through 'obstacles'.
When it came time to teach my nephews, the best 'obstacles' were highly reflective road cones about 3ft tall.
Too short is useless, but too tall will not let them learn about the vertical blind spots.

Separate each cone by at least 300 inches. Have them thread through the cones at, say, 5-10MpH, at first.
After they find that EASY, up the speed to 10-15MpH.
First they'll notice that much more steering is needed to trace the same path more quickly than previous.
Then they'll notice how much more steering needs to be done IN ADVANCE of the next swerve.

Equally useful is slow speed precision stuff. Drive thru the cones backwards. Drop pennies through the holes in the top of the cones after driving right up to them without running them over or shoving them.
I eventually used these and other 'cone course' variations with other people to great success.

while all of this is good info for first time drivers. honestly non of that will help you when you're in a tank slapper at interstate speeds in a top heavy suv.

chances are since they have all been thru it. they leaned the hard way how things can go bad quickly.

if you want kids to lean how to save something like this in a safe environment. you're going to need to take them to a school that's equipped to give them experience in situations like this. experience of failing in a controlled environment is the best teacher


this is the only thing that would have helped in the heat of the moment, and notice even the pros aren't using a suv. while the electronics are getting good, it's still not a easy save once out of control.

 

[Marky Dissod]

I suggested something almost ENTIRELY separate from learning how to apply a pound of cure to a calamity after finding oneself in the middle of it.
Some people live where driver education is limited by budget, time, or simply a LACK of driver training facilities with customized environments and/or equipment.

Those who cannot easily find or afford formal driving instruction in a closed course can still do far better than the bare minimum needed to pass a road test, which prepares no one for unforeseen circumstances of any kind.

For the cost of some cones, any empty parking lot can help any driver become more familiar with how THEIR vehicle responds to increasing driver demands - while also teaching the habits of approaching both a driver's and a vehicle's limits cautiously at first, with increasingly progressive effort as experience is earned.

IFF you have access to formal driving instruction in a closed course, DO THAT, by all means, PLEASE!
If not, you can still aim well beyond merely passing a road test and/or driving conservatively in the hope that nothing bad ever happens, by getting to know your vehicle better.

 

[swathdiver]

Tahoe saved our lives

Glad you are all OK Dave and that the old girl did what she was designed to do. Go out and get another, maybe the longer one, right Tom? @gooffeyguy

Oh, and get your son a can of bug spray! I keep one in my door for this very purpose, right above the Mag-Lite and Leatherman.

 

[Shrubs2K2]

Thankful you all were able to walk away.

 

[steve45]

Glad everyone is OK!

A neighbor of ours rolled her Suburban with 8 kids in it after apparently getting hit by a dust devil. The only injury was a broken finger nail.

Years ago my employer required everyone that drove a company vehicle to go to a driving school that had their own track. They had a vehicle set up so that the instructor could 'blow' a tire unexpectedly and re-inflate it after recovery. They also had us practice running off the road and recovering, etc. Very good school.

(If you run off the edge of the pavement, just steer straight if you can, then make a very rapid jerk back onto the pavement--like 1/8 turn of the steering wheel to the left followed by an immediate 1/8 turn to the right. Done correctly, the vehicle will keep going straight and only move a foot or so each time you do it).

EDIT: Let me clarify the procedure to get back on the road. Rapidly turn the wheel about 1/8 turn in the direction you want to go, followed immediately by turning it back to straight. If that's not enough, repeat until you're back on the pavement.

 

[intheburbs]

Wow. That must've been a hell of a ride. Glad everyone's ok.

Worst I had happen was my son (16 at the time) put us into a ditch, leaving the Suburban at a 60°.

Vehicle yaw can be very unsettling. Overcorrecting is very common. I taught my kids two things for this kind of situation...

1) Don't panic. My son actually didn't react fast enough (not panicking) after hitting some soft snow, and the unplowed snow pulled us into the ditch.
2) Doing donuts - don't laugh. I took each of my 3 kids to their high school (it was more fun doing it there) and had them doing donuts in the unplowed parking lot after a snow storm. I wanted them to learn how it felt, how to control it, and how to recover. Their "final exam" was a full, controlled 360° of rotation using only the throttle and the steering wheel.

Daughter drove the Denali, and the boys drove the Jeeps. Everyone had large, body-on-frame vehicles with significant winter capabilities.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Doing donuts - don't laugh.
I took each of my 3 kids to their high school (it was more fun doing it there) and had them doing donuts in the unplowed parking lot after a snow storm.
I wanted them to learn how it felt, how to control it, and how to recover.
Their "final exam" was a full, controlled 360° of rotation using only the throttle and the steering wheel.

Not laughing at all, just smiling, at one with this idea, and its ilk.

 

[DaveO9]

Thanks all for the comments, concerns, advice, and well-wishes. I read every single one of them. Life is short, been spending the last few days in gratitude to our maker for his many blessings.